Federation of Old Cornwall Societies

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No. 247283 

  THE GATEHOUSE 

The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

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List of Fortifications and Castles

Pendennis Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Pendinas

In the civil parish of Falmouth.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Castle, circular keep and curtain wall built between 1540 and 1546. Angular bastions and outer defences added between 1583 to 1598. Various outworks added during the civil war when the castle was besieged falling to Parliament in 1646. Pendennis and its sister castle at St Mawes were built to defend the approaches to Carrick Roads, one of the largest natural harbours in the country with extensive areas of deep water suitable for mooring large vessels and with enough room for a whole fleet of warships. This, and the harbour's strategic position at the entrance to the English Channel, plus the urgent need to prevent raids on the fast developing towns on its shores, made their construction imperative. The 2 castles were capable of considerable fire-power with impressive range and they contained all the available military innovation of their time. This technology was updated from time to time and served as an effective deterrent from attack. In 1644 Queen Henrietta Maria took shelter here previous to her embarkation for the Continent. The first real threat to the castle came in 1646 during the Civil War, when, with a small force under the leadership of the 86 year old Colonel John Arundel of Trerice, it withstood a siege of 5 months. After losing about 300 men from starvation, Arundel and the surviving 900 men surrendered. They were granted full honours of war and marched out "with colours flying, trumpets sounding, drums beating, matches lighted at both ends, bullets in their mouths, and every soldier twelve charges of powder"

This site has been described as a Artillery Fort:

Fortifications designed specifically for mounting artillery, usually as coastal defence against warships. Vary from large stone structures to small earthwork bulwarks with room for one or two pieces. Although some of the large royal buildings were of high quality with good detail these are actually practical military works.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.

Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 460091)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW824318

 

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

• PastScape number; 428615

• Web site links

  • http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/pendennis/pendennis.php
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_St_Mawes.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/204/pendenniscastle.htm
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.296
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/adv_reference.asp?imageUID=76022

• Books

  • Duffy, Michael, 1999, 'Coastal Defences and Garrisons 1480-1914' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p158-60
    Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p26-9
    Saunders, Andrew, 1997, Channel Defences (London; Batsford/English Heritage)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p19-20
    Spreadbury, I. D., 1984, Castles in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (Redruth)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1
    Price, M. and H., 1980, Castles of Cornwall (Bossiney Books) p33-6, 44-53
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p274
    Morley, B.M., 1976, Henry VIII and the Development of Coastal Defence (London) p10, 14, 39
    Pevsner, N. revised by Enid Radcliffe, 1970, Buildings of England: Cornwall (Harmondsworth) p134
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p792-3
    Tregoning Hooper, 1927, Old Cornwall Col1 no6 p7-20 [history]
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p115-6
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p7-10
    Oliver, S.P., 1984, Pendennis and St Mawes: an historical sketch of two Cornish castles (Redruth: Dyllansow Truran) [facsimile of the 1875 edition]
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p514
    Lysons, D. and S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol3 Cornwall [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=403]
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p31
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol8 p43

• Journal Articles

  • 1997, Fort Vol25 p169-210
    Sharpe, A., 1990, Cornish Archaeology Vol29 p96-97
    1989, Fort Vol17 p11-26
    Harris, D., and Andrew, J., 1985, An ancient wall at Pendennis Point, Falmouth' Cornish Archaeology Vol24 p182-3
    Johnson, N. and Rose, P., 1980, ‘Recent work of the Cornwall Committee for Rescue Archaeology: Pendennis Castle' Cornish Archaeology Vol19 p99
    Morley, Beric and White, Peter, 1974, 'Pendennis Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol130 p283-9

• Guidebooks

  • Linzey, Dick, 1999, Pendennis and St Mawes (English Heritage)
    Morley, B., 1988, The castles of Pendennis & St Mawes (English Heritage)
    Anon, 1985, Pendennis and St Mawes castles (London. English Heritage)
    Anon, 1982, 'Pendennis Castle' (HMSO)
    Anon, 1963, Pendennis and St Mawes castles (HMSO)
    Drake, 1934, Pendennis and St Mawes castles (HMSO) [abridged 1947]

• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cornwalleng.html#cornwall1]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p72, 75